be large enough, especially the trowsers, to jump into them, so to speak.

Those who object to waterproof trowsers should wear high leggings or overalls, and a fisherman's waterproof petticoat, sufficiently long to shoot the wet clear of their knees when seated.

Stout half Wellington boots without nails will be found preferable to heavy sea-boots, as they leave your movements unembarrassed.

In warm weather, whilst fishing, a pair of shoes may be worn without stockings or waterproof clothing; but as soon as you have ceased 'shift your rig' for your dry clothing immediately.

Cork Seats.-A few cushions of painted canvas, stuffed with cork shavings, fifteen inches by eleven, or the same width as the boat's seats, and four inches thick, will be useful to sit on at times, and if edged with some stout Cod-line in loops will answer as life-preservers.

OCEAN-FISHING.

The following particulars on this branch of sea-fishing, communicated by a friend who has paid much attention to the subject during voyages extending over a long period, will probably not be unwelcome to individuals who for a time may have occasion to make their home upon the bosom of the 'vasty deep.'

Ocean-fishing has two great divisions, hooking and harpooning, the first being nothing more than whiffing or trailing on a large scale, the second consisting in striking the fish with the instrument known as the 'Grains,' or with the harpoon. The fish most frequently taken are Bonita, Dolphin, and Albicore, and the gear or tackle as follows: the hook for Bonita of the largest size shown in the cut of hooks, fig. 63, p. 211, attached to six feet of copper bell-wire, and a very stout Cod or logline, the bait a piece of raw pork-skin cut of the shape shown in fig. 67, nearly twice the length of the hook, through which the hook is to be passed twice, and the top of the bait

secured with a bit of twine round the wire at the head of the latter, so that it may not slip down on the bend, which would spoil the appearance of the bait in the water. The bait being split in two, and a narrow gore or slice cut out of the middle, the two tails will hang down beyond the hook and play in the water, which action of the bait may be further increased by jerking the line, and making it leap out of the water, when the fish will spring to catch it, and sometimes even take it in the air.

When the fish are playing across the bows of a vessel, a line is often dropped from the jib-boom with success, especially if a life-like motion be given to the bait by dipping it up and down, which indeed the action of the vessel is often sufficient to effect.

Albicore are taken with the same kind of gear and bait, but the hook must be two sizes larger; it is usual to strike very large fish of this kind with the grains or a very stout gaff, for many are lost by breaking the hook in the attempt to weigh them out of the water with the line alone.

Artificial baits are also sometimes used, namely, the spoon bait, made by cutting off the handle of an albata spoon and boring a hole at each end, and attaching a wire snood at one end and a very strong double hook at the other.

FIG. 67.-Pork-skin

Bait for Oceanfishing.

It would be quite worth while for any emigrant or other individual making a foreign. voyage to get a few flies made Salmon-fashion on the largest-sized hooks figured in the engraving, for I have had such frequent success with flies for Pollack and Mackerel that I cannot but think that some gaudy construction of the kind would answer for ocean-fishing, particularly for the Bonita, as it is a large fish of the Mackerel family.

'The Grains.'—The instrument known as the Grains con

sists of five harpoons in one, which may be either used in a line with each other or may be unscrewed and arranged foursquare, which is frequently preferred; it is attached to a stiff light ashen staff, with a ball of lead at the top, which gives force to the blow and turns the fish up when struck. The fish is hauled on board by a small but strong line bent on to the grains, one or two hands being ready, watching the actions of the striker.

The Bonita and Albicore are the chief fish taken by this method, although others are occasionally met with.

If a log of timber is found floating at sea and covered with barnacles, it is often surrounded with fish attracted by the various small Crabs &c. which also make it their habitation; if the weather be calm, a quantity of fish may be 'grained' by the aid of a boat.

The Triangle Net.-On such occasions quantities of fish may be taken by a bag net on a frame of three iron bars, 12 to 15 ft. long, lashed together in the form of a triangle, supported at two of the angles by small casks. This net is worked by a rope attached to a triple bridle, a part bent on to each angle of the frame, which, in a perpendicular position, is to be hauled under any floating piece of timber. A boat-load has often been caught at one haul.

PORPOISES.

These are occasionally harpooned under the bows of sailing vessels.

REMARKS ON NETS.

There are several varieties of nets used in sea-fishing, of which the chief are Trammels, Seine, Trawl, and Drift-nets, the construction and working of which are so very different that a particular description of each must be given in order to afford anything like a true conception of the subject.

The Trammel.-The appellation of this net is doubtless of French origin, for trammel' is evidently trois mailles,' or three meshes, which exactly describes the net. (Vide 'Life in Normandy,' vol. i. p. 163.) It consists of a loose net of small

meshes or sheeting, between two tighter nets of larger meshes called the walling.

It is thus made and of the following materials :

The twine known as the Shrewsbury thread is found to answer better than any other that has been tried, as from its fineness and pliability it meshes the fish remarkably well, which a hard twine fails to do.

The size No. 18 is preferred in the island of Guernsey, and is manufactured by Messrs. Marshall & Co., Shrewsbury.

A flax-twine used in Kent for drift Sprat-nets has also been tried and approved of.

The size of the mesh should be three inches and one-eighth, and the depth forty-two meshes or eighty-four rows.

Supposing the net to be eighty fathoms in length, when mounted it must only occupy half this distance, namely forty fathoms, and on every length of six inches of the roping four meshes must be taken in the needle at once and secured.

On each side of this fine netting is fastened a net with meshes of eighteen inches in length when stretched tight, including three knots, and of Salmon twine: these large meshes are secured to the rope or rawling at distances of twelve inches on the head and foot ropes, and being only half the depth of the middle net leave a large amount of slack which allows the fish to pocket themselves, as shown in the second engraving.

Fig. 68, p. 224 represents a side view of the trammel when set in the water, or as it appears when hung up to dry upon a wall, the large meshes plainly visible crossing the smaller, which being slacker fall down to the foot-line. As there is a walling on both sides of the small mesh, the fish pocket themselves when swimming from either side. Plain sheet-nets are used in some localities, and are erroneously called 'trammels.' At others they are used with one walling only; to be strictly a ‘trammel,' there must be three nets side by side. At Poole the middle only is of three nets, the ends single sheets. Square wallings originated, I believe, in Spain, but are now frequently used in England.

The cork required for the head-line should be cut two inches square and three-quarters of an inch in thickness, from

which cut off the corners, that they may not entangle in the meshes. These corks must be placed on the head-line at intervals of eighteen inches, and the pipe-leads abreast of them on the foot-line: the dimensions of these perforated leads are one and three-quarter inches in length and half an inch in diameter. These leads will be of the required weight to sink the corks, which will raise the net like a wall from the bottom

to the height the large meshes will allow, namely five feet three inches, which is found sufficient for the capture of Red Mullet, Soles, Plaice, Craw-fish, Crabs, Lobsters, &c. (See the article on Red Mullet,' in addition to the present remarks, p. 174).

The best time to set a trammel is just before sunset, as the fish mesh themselves more frequently on the approach of darkness, although some may be taken even in the daytime.

The most likely places to shoot a trammel are in the eddy